Sweet Potato Gnocchi with Zucchini, Mushrooms, Tomatoes, and Kale

I have always wanted to make sweet potato gnocchi but haven’t. After having a squash gnocchi at a local restaurant a couple of weeks ago it has been back on my mind. I finally decided what veggies I would pair with it and took the plunge. So glad I did!

Sweet Potato Gnocchi

serves 4-8

2 large sweet potatoes

2 tsp salt

1 tsp fresh ground nutmeg

1/2- 1 tsp fresh black pepper

3-4 c whole wheat flour, or all purpose or gluten free, plus more for surface

Additional ingredients to make Sweet Potato Gnocchi with Zucchini, Mushrooms, Tomatoes, and Kale

1 large shallot, sliced

2 cloves of garlic

8 oz baby bella mushrooms, sliced

2 zucchini, sliced and halved

1c grape tomatoes

large handful of organic mixed baby kale

2-4 TBSP extra virgin olive oil

*We only cooked half of the gnocchi we made and put the other half in the freezer, once frozen removed from pan and put in a bag to cook up another time. If you aren’t going to make with veggies above you may use all of it that is why I put servings at 4-8. For 4 servings we used half of the gnocchi it made and all of the other vegetables/ ingredients above.

Bake your sweet potatoes for 60-75 minutes at 350 degrees until soft, you don’t want to undercook them. When sweet potatoes are done either wait until they cool and remove insides or I put mine whole in the refrigerator. When you are ready to make your gnocchi and your potatoes are cooled remove insides if you have not already done so and mash or puree potatoes and put them in a large bowl.   Add salt, nutmeg, and black pepper to your sweet potatoes and mix. Now you will add your flour to make a dough. How much you will need depends on how big your sweet potatoes are. My two potatoes ended up making 3 cups of mashed/ pureed sweet potato and I used 4 cups of flour. Start by stirring in 2 cups of flour and see where you are at, continue adding flour 1/2 a cup at a time until you get close to a non sticky dough and add a little slower. You will need to start mixing it/ kneading it with your hands as it will get too hard with a spoon. Once you have a ball of non sticky dough you are ready to roll your gnocchi. Lightly flour your surface and grabbing balls, about the size of a baseball, roll your dough into ropes about 1/2″ thick, and with a sharp knife cut your gnocchi into 3/4-1″ pieces. Place your cut gnocchi on a non stick pan or surface. Continue rolling and cutting your gnocchi. We only cooked half of the gnocchi we made and put the other half in the freezer, once frozen removed from pan and put in a bag to cook up another time.

Here is where you have 2 options. If you want you can make both the gnocchi and vegetables at the same time, starting the vegetables slightly before the gnocchi so when the gnocchi are ready you add them to the vegetables. The other option is to have another pan sprayed with non cook spray or a little extra virgin olive oil and add your gnocchi to the pan and fry/brown them so they are crispy on the outside after boiling them. Starting the zucchini and mushrooms as soon as you drop your first batch of gnocchi.  When gnocchi are crispy add to zucchini mushroom mixture or plate with veggie mixture.

Start a large stock pot of salted water on the stove and bring to a boil. When water is at a rapid boil, depending on the size of your gnocchi and pot add 10- 15 gnocchi. You don’t want to overcrowd your pot or have the gnocchi touch each other, keep the water boiling. Cook gnocchi until they float, and continue cooking 30 seconds beyond that point, approximately 5 minutes total. Cook gnocchi in batches until they are all cooked.

In a large skillet heat 1-2 tablespoons oil on medium head, add shallots and cook a minute or two. Add zucchini and cook approximately 4 minutes and add in your mushrooms. Turn down to low and grate in your garlic, stir and add tomatoes. Continue to simmer until gnocchi is ready.

Just before serving add kale into veggies just to slightly wilt it.

Season with salt and pepper to taste if needed and enjoy!